Viewing the images - Monitor Calibration

When making prints, we go to considerable lengths to produce just the image the photographer was looking for. It is not easy to reproduce this on the Internet. The images are smaller and less detailed, but the biggest variable is how you, the viewer, have your computer set up. Many people never adjust their monitor's brightness and or contrast and we know that any talk about monitor calibration or monitor profiling, still leaves many graphics professionals confused.

In an attempt to help, we have some images here that we hope you can use to enhance your viewing experience...

Simple adjustments to your monitor

Have a look at the test images below, they are designed to help you adjust your screen to display images more accurately*. You may find that your monitor looks somewhat odd after adjustment, especially if you needed to change it a lot. This effect is quite normal and you will soon get used to it. The controls on your monitor may be physical adjustment knobs, or a menu may appear on the screen (this is produced by the monitor itself, so the mouse won't work with that particular menu).

*Note
Basic monitor calibration is not too difficult, but if you are not happy with changing settings on your machine, it is always best to ask someone who knows how to do it first. A well set up monitor should enhance your viewing of most sites. Incidentally, it is never a good move to adjust someone else's monitor without their permission.

Calibrating your monitor for viewing the photographs correctly

The strip shows a range of greys from pure black to pure white. You should be able to see a clear difference between each shade of grey, ranging from pure black (left) and pure white (right).

Along the top of the strips are alternate patches of black and dark grey.

If it looks solid black to you (look very carefully), your monitor's brightness setting is too low.

Increase it until you can -just- perceive the difference between the grey and the black squares.

If it resembles either of the two strips below, it is set too bright or too dark...

too bright ...

too dark.